Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today August 1
1981
MTV is born: 'Video Killed the Radio Star' and nothing was ever the same
On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV went on air with The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' — a choice as ironic as it was prophetic. The channel made image a requirement for musical success, manufactured megastars like Madonna and Michael Jackson and re-educated the eye of an entire generation. Music was no longer just heard: it had to be seen.
The Buggles
MTV
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1942
Jerry Garcia is born, the bearded heart of the San Francisco sound
On August 1, 1942, Jerome John Garcia was born in San Francisco, guitarist and spiritual voice of the Grateful Dead. Self-taught and endlessly curious, he blended folk, blues, country and jazz into improvisations that could run half an hour without repeating themselves. With the Dead he founded something more than a band: a traveling community that followed his tours for three decades. His liquid guitar playing defined the psychedelic sound of the West Coast.
Jerry Garcia
Grateful Dead
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1960
Chuck D is born: the voice that turned rap into war reporting
On August 1, 1960, Carlton Ridenhour was born in New York — the man who, as Chuck D, led Public Enemy and defined rap as "the black CNN." With 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' he brought hip-hop a sonic and political density no group had attempted: sirens, noise and a baritone that didn't sing so much as indict. Before him rap could be pure party; after him it also had to be conscience.
Chuck D
Public Enemy
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1971
The Concert for Bangladesh invents the benefit mega-event
On August 1, 1971, George Harrison gathered Dylan, Clapton, Ringo and Ravi Shankar at Madison Square Garden to raise funds for Bangladesh's refugees. It was the first great benefit concert in rock history, the direct template for Live Aid and everything that followed. It proved stars could use their fame for something beyond selling records.
George Harrison
Bob Dylan
Ravi Shankar
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2007
Prince takes London: 21 straight nights at the O2 that nobody has matched
On August 1, 2007, Prince opened a residency of 21 consecutive sold-out nights at London's O2, running through September 21. Tickets cost £31.21, a nod to his own name, and he played in the round on a stage shaped like his symbol. No artist has come close to that number since. It proved a musician could stop touring the world and make the world come to him instead.
Prince
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1951
Tommy Bolin is born, the fleeting genius who replaced Blackmore
On August 1, 1951, Tommy Bolin was born in Sioux City, Iowa, a self-taught guitarist who played by ear and claimed to have taken only four lessons in his life. He shone in Zephyr and the James Gang before taking on the impossible challenge: replacing Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple, where he wrote seven of the nine songs on 'Come Taste the Band'. His blend of hard rock, funk and jazz hinted at paths he never got to walk. He died in 1976, at just 25.
Tommy Bolin
Deep Purple
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1959
Joe Elliott is born, the voice that took Sheffield to the stadiums
On August 1, 1959, Joe Elliott, vocalist and founder of Def Leppard, was born in Sheffield. From an industrial English city he dreamed of American stadium rock, and ended up conquering it: 'Pyromania' and 'Hysteria' sold tens of millions of copies. His raspy yet melodic voice was the trademark of the polished hard rock of the eighties. In 2019 he entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his band.
Joe Elliott
Def Leppard
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1969
The festival that rehearsed Woodstock two weeks early, in New Jersey
On August 1, 1969, a three-day festival began at the Atlantic City Race Course drawing more than a hundred thousand people — two weeks before Woodstock. The stage was a dome designed by architect Buckminster Fuller and a full weekend pass cost fifteen dollars. Joni Mitchell played there, among dozens of names that would be legend a month later. History kept the myth of Bethel, but the dress rehearsal happened in New Jersey.
Joni Mitchell
Buckminster Fuller
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1987
MTV crosses the Atlantic and the music video stops being an American habit
On August 1, 1987, at 12:01 a.m., MTV Europe went on air across eight countries with Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing' — the song that mocked MTV itself. Elton John flipped the switch from Amsterdam and Sting voiced the slogan "I want my MTV." The launch party at the Roxy gathered half the British scene. From that night on, the music video stopped being an American habit and became pop's common language.
Dire Straits
MTV Europe
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2015
Cilla Black dies: the Cavern cloakroom girl who became a queen
On August 1, 2015, Cilla Black died aged 72 at her home in Estepona, Spain, after a stroke following a fall. She had worked the Cavern's cloakroom before Brian Epstein signed her and George Martin recorded her at Abbey Road, turning her into the best-selling British female artist of the sixties. 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' and 'You're My World' both hit number one in 1964. Liverpool exported more than boy bands.
Cilla Black
Brian Epstein
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